I hope that while reading my stories of daily miracles, others will see God's hand in their own beautiful lives...... Feel free to leave comments. I love to read them!! I have received feedback that many of your comments are not posting; I have set up an email just for you... mydailymiracles@gmail.com. Enjoy reading!! God loves you!!:):)

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Latter Day Pioneers!

We live in Michigan now; but about 7 years ago, we moved
from Missouri to Eagle Mountain, Utah to a home that I had never before seen. My husband, Abe, had bought it as an
investment property, and we never planned on living in the home.

Shortly before moving there, we discovered fees had accrued
because the backyard was unfinished. Unfinished
was an understatement! It was a
beautiful home, but the backyard was full of pokey weeds and sagebrush on rocky-
hard, sloped soil. In addition, lots of
mice made this untouchable backyard their safe haven from humans. Yuck!

We had a lot of work to do, and the homeowner’s association
gave us only a few short weeks to get it done or else more fees would accrue.

We had 3 little boys at the time, and baby Jordan was
usually strapped to my back as Abe and I cleared out the brush and shoveled
rocks day after day after day…

One night a neighbor from across the street came to shovel
with us until well after midnight! They eventually
became some of our best friends. As we
worked, a next- door neighbor lovingly called out her window periodically to
see if we needed cookies or treats... we usually did! :-)

One day a whole family from down the street spontaneously showed
up at our house with shovels. They
stood in our backyard and yelled out to us that they were there to shovel, so
we better come out. We laughed so hard
with joy! We donned our shoveling
clothes and joined our happy helpers. Of
course our project would have been finished a lot sooner if we had the right
machines, but we also wouldn’t have witnessed these amazing people!

Amongst the rocks and sagebrush, we also had a lot of
displaced, giant boulders. We absolutely
needed an excavator for this job, but Abe would be out of town on the weekend
we would need to use it.

Still afraid to actually ask neighbors for help, I rented
the excavator, asked a lot of questions at the rental facility, brought it
home, and started maneuvering the boulders by myself! That is some tricky business!! I successfully moved a couple boulders across
the yard, but I trembled with fear the entire way as the excavator rocked back and forth with the weight of the boulder!

After witnessing my distressed look from her window, a
neighbor called an expert a few streets away to assist me. Thank goodness! He showed up at our house and efficiently
finished my boulder project in half the time it would have taken me.

The next day, even more neighbors showed up again to help us
finish our yard. I was in shock because
these people hardly knew us! I couldn’t
believe they were serving in this way. I still have the hardest time asking people for help, but these wonderful saints didn’t
wait for me to ask. They just kept
showing up!

I was so excited about all the help that I forgot to eat. As I struggled through my hypoglycemic fog
and swirling brain, I shouted, “Oh my gosh! Where’s my baby!!??!!”

I looked around the yard in a frantic sweep before a cute
teenager shouted with laughter, “You’re holding him!” I turned to my little Jordan and realized he
was comfortably positioned on my hip the whole time. Thank goodness not too many people heard
me. Wow! I knew I needed a break and some food after
that episode!

When it came time to lay the sod, even more neighbors than
before showed up and started working all over our yard. To
me, it looked like a sea of people!

I think now about that experience, and I wonder if maybe
that was the way the pioneers looked as they rebuilt their homes over and over
again in Ohio, Missouri, Nauvoo, and finally in Utah… a sea of serving hands
coming together in a common cause… and in a spirit of unity. That unity and their faith in God must have
been the only way they were able to endure the hardship of leaving their homes and starting over so many times.

Today is Pioneer Day... the day we celebrate and show gratitude for the pioneers who faced so many trials as they walked all the way to Utah in search of religious freedom.

May God bless the pioneers of old, and may God bless the latter day
pioneers across the world who valiantly stand strong in their beliefs and who lovingly work together to ease the burdens of their neighbors!

About Me

I have a passion for the teachings of Jesus Christ and learned to speak Spanish fluently when I served as a missionary in Bolivia many years ago. I have crazy, ambitious dreams, and I couldn't have married a more supportive, patient man… Abe Mills. I graduated from BYU with a broadcasting/journalism degree and presently use that education to homeschool 6 of our 7 children.